This day in history

The Paris Opera unveils a stunning new ceiling painted as a gift by artist Marc Chagall, who spent much of his life in France.

Chagall’s Russian soul and Jewish heritage stirred his love for folklore and biblical themes. Before the advent of surrealism, he painted fantastical paintings that were among the first expressions of psychic reality in modern art. Among his most famous works are paintings such as I and the Village (1911); his series of 12 stained-glass windows symbolising the tribes of Israel (1960-61); the two vast murals he painted for New York’s Metropolitan Opera House (1966); and the sets and costumes he designed for various operas and ballets.

He continued to work vigorously until his death in 1985 at the age of 97.

In Northern Ireland, representatives from The Ulster Unionist Party and Sinn Fein meet for face to face talks at Stormont for the first time since the Ulster Unionist lifted their 80 year ban on talking to Sinn Fein.

A court in Australia lifts the ban on publication of Peter Wright’s autobiography Spy Catcher. The British government had sought an injunction against the former senior MI5 officer on grounds of national security.

In Pittsburgh, America, Bob Marley plays his last concert before his death.

In America, the trial of eight anti-Vietnam War activists charged with organising the violent demonstrations at the August 1968 Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago. Although most of the defendants were originally convicted of various offences, these were all overturned by the Court of Appeal in 1972.